Inadequate Heat in Rental

**Leahc23** · 01-09-2012, 08:59 AM

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: New York

I have not had adequate heat since dec 23. I contacted my lanlord which lives right downstairs from me and told them that day. They gave my bf an electric heater and said " here this wont run up your electric bill and it will heat your whole house! I used it for the night and it didn't heat up anything! I have a 5 yr old boy that I had to give it to so he wouldnt be cold. I told them christmas eve Its not staying this way and I want heat now. They told me they do not have a dollar to their name so they cant guarantee it's going to be fixed!!! Then he said " there's no way that electric heater isn't heating up your apt!( we shoudln't have to use it anyway) I told him I would pay for it and he said ok just bring me the receipt and it cant be no more then 400. A guy came in and was very nice, and told us 800.000 dollars has to be put into it or a new heater.. well I knew right there it wasn't going to get fixed! he told me they dont make that furnace anymore because there were too many lawsuits against it. He also said it was over 30 years old and it's unsafe. He documented all of this, got it temporarily working and said it can stay like this for a few days but it's not going to last. My boyfriend went downstiars and told the landlord she said " well I hope it lasts till mon so i can call heap to see if they will fix it" Omg! so I waited.. tuesday came around and I wrote her a note and maid a copy, told her i wanted all my rent receipts that she never gave me and I need to knwo whats going on with the heat becuase it cant stay in the condition it's in. She put my receipts in the hall the next day and never got back to me about the heat. In the meantime I was lookign day in and out for a new apt. Jan 2 came around and i text them and said look i have the remaining balance of then rent but u guys havnt responded to me and i dont know what to do. NO RESPONSE!!!! they have been avoiding us! somtimes our furnace wont even kick on in the middle of the night and its really cold! Im furious! On top of it, he keeps getting high in the hallway with his friends and I told him to stop and he wont and my whole house smells like pot and I have a frigen child!.. Im so pissed of.. we cant even leave our own apt sometimes because i dont want my child walking through it! We found an apt and it will be available to move into in a week and a half. I dont know what to do. There is no way in hell Im staying there another 30 days due to the drugs, the inadequate heat, and the parolee thats threatened me infront of my child on the first floor. Will I get my security back if i tell them look im leaving in 2 weeks because I need to get out of here etc. I really need my money back and I just put my deposit on the other apt. Please I hope someone can help me and give me a answer.

**Mr. Knowitall** · 01-10-2012, 11:54 AM

The temperature in your unit with the (defective) furnace running drops to what at night?

Have you made demands for the repair of the furnace in writing?

Have you complained about the problem to local housing inspectors?

A pretty good summary of what to do if your landlord won't make repairs can be found here.

**Leahc23** · 01-11-2012, 03:24 PM

The temp drops to 60 degrees at night. I have texted and made demands in last written notice and made a copy of it. I havn't contacted housing yet because I'm plannign on moving. I think i'm going to contact them and let them know though so no one else moves into this situation. Our landlord is avoiding us to the point of not even taking the rent! So I wrote them a note letting them know I will not be giving them a 30 day and that I will be out within the month. I told them I cannot give them a 30 day because My son cannot be exposed to their drug use and it's affecting his asthma and that the furnace is inadequate and not safe and that Ive contacted several times and they ignored me. I told them I have the remaining balance of their rent and that I need my security back and to get back to me as soon as possible. They got the note because it's not in the hall and havn't responded to me yet.

**LawResearcherMissy** · 01-11-2012, 03:33 PM

So I wrote them a note letting them know I will not be giving them a 30 day and that I will be out within the month. I told them I cannot give them a 30 day because My son cannot be exposed to their drug use and it's affecting his asthma and that the furnace is inadequate and not safe and that Ive contacted several times and they ignored me.

Not gonna fly.

Did you read the summary that Mr. K posted? If you don't give proper notice, kiss your security deposit goodbye.